Total Recall
by emeralddusk
Summary: Tori's mind is put into a virtual nightmare as she seeks relief for her broken life.


**Get Ready for the Ride of Your Life**

Total Recall

My name is Tori Vega. I'm 18, sister of Katrina Vega, and the daughter of two parents who have remained married through thick and thin (as it should be). I attend Hollywood Arts high school. All things considered, my life is good. I have a group of friends: Cat Valentine, Andre Haris, Beck Oliver, who has a girlfriend named Jade West, my sister (most of the time), and Robbie Shapiro. However, my life took a turn for the worst recently; Jade became Gothic, had sex with Beck, got pregnant, dropped out of school and took Beck with her, Katrina started becoming more and more selfish and self-centered, Andre's closest friends from another school died, delivering a hard blow to his heart, and Robbie has been overly involved with his ventriloquist act. As for me, I've been fading into obscurity around school, forgotten by most, ignored by my boyfriend, who will remain unnamed, and have been suffering from a painful numbing to my hands and feet (the doctors don't know what it is, and don't know of a cure in this stage).

Finally, I decided to get away from it all, and went to a place called Total Recall, a company that specializes in virtual simulations. Fortunately, they were selling just what I needed: dream vacation experiences. The day I arrived at their building, the sky was black, and the rain was heavy. Thunder roared, and lightning struck repeatedly. Inside, it was warm and inviting. A man with short brown hair and a woman with long blond hair directed me to the machines, asked me what kind of vacation I wanted: a surreal trip to the moon with the Northern Lights shining above me. The two programmed the machine, then put the helmet on my head, covering my eyes.

Once they told me they had started, I began to see rainbow-colored lights flash before my eyes, I began to feel the wind hit my cheeks, and I could smell the constant smell of roses (at least that's how it seemed). Finally, I found myself on the white surface of the moon, all alone. The air was cool (despite the fact that the moon has no air). I walked around a little, taking in the relaxing atmosphere.

Looking up at the sky, I saw something. I wasn't sure at first, but it looked like static. The white and gray ripple was small, but I knew it was there: not an optical illusion (not one designed by Total Recall, anyway). "Hey," I called, hoping one of the employees was still around. "Hey, I think something's wrong."

No one answered. For the first time, I felt alone. Not the feeling of aloneness that I came here to get, but a darker, agonizing feeling. I was alone for the first time in my life: no friends, no family. Just me. No one heard my screams.

Suddenly, the images around me began to change: they warped, their colors and shapes shifted, twisted. I felt someone grab my shoulders. "Tori!" he yelled. I think it was one of the employees who put me in the chair. His face turned green, his mouth was wide open, and his head began to curve into a sideways U. shape. The image continued to twist until it was a vortex that sucked me in.

Inside the green, swirling vortex, I could see the stars in the fictional galaxy: They were glowing blue and red, each one as bright as the sun. I began to feel like my body was going to be halved by the suction. If ever I experienced fear, this was it. I screamed, but it only spun around my head. My hair blew violently, completely blocking my eyes a few times. That scared me to the point of suffocation.

"Somebody help me!" I saw myself yelling. The sound was so bright it made my eyes throb. The colors flashing by me smelled like something I'd never perceived: they filled my nostrils, swelled inside my brain. They were all I could breathe in.

It took me what felt like twenty years, but I soon learned the greatest horror of my life: my senses were twisted. Altered. Everything I knew was changing. Whatever I called logic was broken. My body trembled as I hollered. My very essence shook like an earthquake.

The next thing I saw was Los Angeles shaking, and growing closer and closer at a frightening speed: I was falling. No parachute, no hope of breaking my impact. Seconds before I collided with the hard street, my body curved upward, and I was speeding forward. Soon, a tall building coated entirely with glass, a place my friends and I used to spend the whole afternoon, appeared in my path.

I found myself hit it head-on. Instead of shattering the glass, my body seemed to pass through its exterior. Inside, all laws of physics were forgotten: the surround area, which may have been nothingness, swirled. No shapes, no size. Before I could feel it, I was falling. No matter how fast my drop was, I didn't seem to get any lower, but it felt like it.

Someone kicked my shoulder, waking me up. Looking up at the person, I found myself atop the grass in a park on a warm summer's day. Katrina was standing in front of me. Andre, Beck, Jade, Robbie, and Cat were behind her, staring at me.

Too weak to talk, I just groaned at them. Everything was aching, and my mind was hazed. "Hey, sis," I finally managed to say.

"I'm not your sister," Katrina replied, her voice cold. "Those were just computerized memories."

I grew shocked, my terror frosting over my entire body. "Robbie, Cat," I replied, losing any composure I'd ever had. "What about you guys?"

"Afraid not," Robbie answered, his voice sounding different, and his tone vicious. The boy I once recognized as my friend put his arm around Cat, and crudely kissed her on the lips.

"Poor Tori," Andre mocked me, pulling out a handgun. "Let us put you out of you misery."

I lifted myself up with my arms, and ran away. This was real, not a hologram, not a video game. All of my memories were lies created by Total Rekall. Then, who am I? Finally, I found shelter in a thick forest. Above me, the sky was dark, and the air was getting colder. After about an hour, I fell asleep, my mind locked somewhere between reality and my dreams.

"Tori," Beck called, his voice desperate. "Don't let go."

My throat was throbbing, my chest felt like it was being crushed by a pile of cinder blocks. Gasping for air, my eyes began to swell. The pressure brought on by the lack of oxygen was devastating.

"...I love you," Beck said, his voice extremely weak and hoarse.

I couldn't answer. My eyes felt like they were about to tear out of my head. My gasping grew violent, and I felt my mind reaching desperation: There was no escape, no relief.

Above us, the sky was black, and the red sand below us was so cold. Everything we worked for was crumbling. Mars was going to be terraformed, and we weren't going to live to see it.

Clenching my throat tightly, I felt my energy die, and I closed my eyes. Everything went black.


End file.
